Tag Archives: Luke Skywalker

This is just breaking from The Hollywood Reporter and I’m going to paste Coming Soon’s thoughts below, but it appears that 2020’s Star Wars film will focus on Obi-Wan Kenobi. The third “Star Wars Story” film was supposed to have been announced back in June, but when the chaos of the director transition for Han Solo hit, that obviously pushed things back. We don’t have many immediate details, nor do we have a confirmation that Ewan McGregor is coming back, though he has actively lobbied for an Obi-Wan film and it would seem the obvious place to put one is in the 20 years he spent watching Luke on Tatooine between Episodes III and IV. Stephen Daldry is set to direct. I’m not a huge fan of Daldry’s, but if they are indeed going to examine Obi-Wan’s time in the desert and McGregor will return (even prequel haters mostly laud McGregor’s Obi-Wan), then this is something perfect for the anthology films. Expect follow-ups on this as more details are released. May 2020 already has a release date (Memorial Day weekend) set for this film. Continue reading The Third Star Wars Spin-Off Will Be Obi-Wan!!!→

Star Wars: The Last Jedi has been the most secretive of any of the Disney-era films yet, with nary a leak out there aside from those spun off of the teaser trailer (click here to watch) released four months ago. I can’t help but think that we’re on the cusp of getting the full trailer as we’re now only four months away from the opening of the next Saga film. Entertainment Weekly’s fall preview issue features two covers for The Last Jedi (still keeping people wondering whether the title refers to Luke or Rey, though Hamill has said it refers to Luke). The captions provide some interesting details, but the most awesome pic has to be Snoke’s Praetorian Guard, an upgraded look on Palpatine’s Imperial Guard. Snoke may be a new character, but everything about The First Order seems like an upgrade or an evolution from The Empire, so there is a connection somewhere. Take a look at these full slew of images and begin to speculate. It’s not too far now. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi opens December 15, 2017. Continue reading New Star Wars: The Last Jedi Pictures from Entertainment Weekly!!!→

Much as they did last year with Rogue One, Disney has released a behind-the-scenes reel for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi at its annual D23 expo. It’s the kind of reel where you’re going to have to imagine the possibilities, because-just as they have all along-the reel gives nothing away plotwise….except to warn us again that Rian Johnson’s story is going to turn everything we know about Star Wars on its head. If it were pretty much anyone but Rian Johnson writing this, that constant message would have me a little worried. It’s a very cool look at a film we still know next to nothing about with a touching finish from the late Carrie Fisher. No news yet on Han Solo, other than that Ron Howard has taken over and things are apparently still proceeding toward the planned May 2018 release.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi is written and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper) and continues the storylines introduced in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, welcoming back cast members Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa, Adam Driver as Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, Lupita Nyong’o as Maz Kanata, Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron, Domhnall Gleeson as Hux, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, and Andy Serkis as Supreme Leader Snoke. New cast members will include Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, Academy Award nominee Laura Dern, and newcomer Kelly Marie Tran as Rose.

The sequel is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski. Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in regular and IMAX theaters on December 15, 2017.

Hero Fan Productions is a channel you MUST be following on YouTube. A week ago, I shared their video “The Last”, which depicts Luke Skywalker’s journey through Episode IV to the trailer to Episode VIII (click here if you missed it). In “The Chosen One”, HFP looks at Luke’s father, Anakin, from Episodes I-VI (and Rogue One) plus footage from Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. Vader’s legacy still loomed large over his family in Episode VII. Even 30 years after his death, Anakin’s fall was still dividing and hurting his family, the irony being that it was the mad protection of his family that drove him from them into the arms of the Dark Side. Everyone has their own view on the Prequels, but the information provided from them (mostly from Episode III and the 10 years of animated series) makes Vader’s story even more tragic. The notions of “balance to the force” and “the chosen one” appear to be something that we’re going to be dealing with again in The Last Jedi, which is promising the BIGGEST jaw-dropping plot twist in the Saga’s history. HFP does a great job with this (I wish they’d have stuck to using Williams’ score instead of epic music that gets a little distracting), and it gets you thinking about those parts of Anakin’s story that still may affect the stories yet to come.

This month has been the 40th anniversary celebration of the film that started it all: Star Wars. Seven more films later, with four more on the way (Lucasfilm has announced the third spin-off will be announced for 2020 sometime in June 2017), the film that started with a farm boy is coming full circle with this Christmas’ The Last Jedi. “Who is Luke Skywalker?” is the central question that drove JJ Abrams to get involved with the sequels. After only a brief, cryptic cameo in The Force Awakens, Luke looks to be as central to Episode VIII as any character. We know he’s not the man Rey expects to find. The first trailer for TLJ has him condemning the Jedi. However, Hero Fan Productions “The Last” does a really fantastic job at recapping Luke’s journey, especially in highlighting the parallels with Anakin’s journey and where Luke went right and Anakin wrong. I think TLJ is a continuation of the journey (we do have several decades of catching up to do), and I don’t think we’ll be saying good-bye to Luke until Episode IX. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is scheduled for release December 15, 2017.